Vanilla Cake with Peach Filling & Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
Classic vanilla cake with peach filling, spiced with cardamom, and covered with a fluffy caramelized white chocolate buttercream.
I have recently gotten into a wonderful habit of getting up earlier, and it has been a very positive change! Every morning before work, I put on my makeup and drink a cup of coffee while Bell eats breakfast. (Marc makes coffee before work and always leaves me half a pot that sits on the heater until I’m up and about. I like him a lot). After I pack my lunch, I go in the backyard and throw a toy around for the puppy. After popping a few zoomies, Bell goes inside and lays on the couch for her first nap of the day. That’s my cue to leave, so I pour the rest of the coffee into my Keep Cup, turn on NPR, and head to work! I don’t know when I became such a geezer, but I’ve also started re-using Ziploc bags lately, so it looks like it’s downhill from here.
Hm what other old-people shit have I been doing lately? I discovered a new farmer’s market that I’m obsessed with! It has the best tomatoes and corn and Italian green beans! There’s a little bakery with artisan bread and very delicious cookies. And a cheese food truck! Also, I have befriended one of the vendors who sells excellent fruit. Maybe if I’m feeling crazy, I can talk myself into getting up early enough to snag the good produce on Saturday. Depends on how many Friday celebration cocktails I drink tonight, WE’LL SEE.
Vanilla Cake with Peach Filling = the Best Summer Cake!!
My favorite grab from the farmer’s market is the stone fruit. Omggg it’s so good and juicy and perfect. Specifically, I have been getting into white peaches. But last weekend, I bought way too many and they started going bad, and suddenly I was having a peach 911 emergency! So I turned it into this vanilla cake with peach filling, and it was the correct choice!
First, I am happy to announce that I FINALLY created a high-altitude vanilla cake that I am happy with! It’s perfectly dense while still being, ahem…moist (*ew I know I’m sorry*). But, it’s totally sturdy enough to hold layers and not crumble. Success! I will probs do an entire blog post on it with all the tips and tricks. I’M SO EXCITED. However, if you live at sea-level, I put measurements you can *try* and I *think* will be ok. BUT! I don’t know 100% that it will so please don’t yell at me if it doesn’t work. (And if it does, please let me know!!). I’m going to try out my recipe next time I’m in Vegas, and I will report back with my findings!
Of course, nothing goes better with a good vanilla cake like a v delicious filling! I basically just cut up all of my peaches and mixed in some brown sugar and cardamom. I know cardamom is very typical of me, but you can use cinnamon, allspice, or any other warm spice you desire. You can also spring for some lemon zest or fresh herbs if you’re feeling extra creative.
Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
Vanilla cake with peach filling is not complete without caramelized white chocolate buttercream! Caramelized white chocolate is something I only recently discovered, but holy hell, it’s SO GOOD. I feel like it’s relatively unused in the food bloggy world thus far, but that needs to change. It is severely underrated.
The kicker is that caramelized white chocolate does add an extra like, 45 minutes to this cake. But don’t let that deter you! It’s so (so so so so) easy and totally worth the effort. Plus, you can easily make it a few days in advance, so all you have to do is melt it slightly and mix it in the buttercream.
However, if you don’t want to caramelize the white chocolate, regular white chocolate will still taste amazing! Just use a high-quality white chocolate (like Guittard, Gharardelli *baking white chocolate* or Valrhona. Basically anything with 30% or more cocoa butter).
Then frost your vanilla cake with peach filling, top with extra white peaches, and enjoy!! 🍑🍑🍑
Tips: This recipe is for a high-altitude cake (about 5,000 ft.), but if you live at sea-level, you can try 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and only 1/2 c. milk. Bake the cakes at 350° for 18-22 minutes. *This recipe has been tested at sea-level and works with the above measurements!*
If you want to spread out the work, you can make the caramelized white chocolate a few days in advance. However, if you don’t want to caramelize the white chocolate, regular tastes just as good!
Feel free to replace the cardamom in the filling with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon zest, or herbs!
If you make this recipe, I would love it if you left a star rating and review! I read every single comment and love hearing what you think about my recipes. Thank you for supporting Sunday Table!
Vanilla Cake with Peach Filling and Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
Caramelized White Chocolate
- 8 oz good-quality white chocolate
High-Altitude Vanilla Cake
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder*
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. whole milk**
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, room-temperature
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Peach Filling
- 2 cup white peaches, diced (about 2 large peaches)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch (mixed with 2 tsp. water)
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup caramelized white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp whole milk
- Pinch of salt
Assemble
- White peach slices, berries, flowers, etc. for decorating
Instructions
Caramelized White Chocolate
- Preheat oven to 250° F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Break the chocolate into 1-2” pieces. Place the chocolate on the sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes. Smooth it with a heat-proof spatula (it may look grainy, and clumpy – that’s ok!).
- Place the white chocolate back in the oven and bake it for 10 more minutes. At this point, it will start to turn darker and probably be much clumpier. Stir it, really making to scrape the bottom so it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn.
- Repeat this process 3-4 more times, until it’s smooth and a deep blonde color. (This may be as short as 45 minutes total or as long as 55 minutes total). Spread it thin and let it cool on the parchment paper until you’re ready to use it. If you want to make it in advance, let the white chocolate harden, and then break it into 1-2” pieces. Store it in a jar or airtight container until you’re ready to use.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375°F***. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease well. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the whole milk with the sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Then, mix in the vanilla extract and oil.
- Reduce the mixer to low, and add half the flour mixture followed by half the milk mixture until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk mixtures. Do not overmix. Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans.
- Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until the cakes are just baked and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes has a few crumbs on it. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pan, and then completely cool on a wire rack.
Peach Filling
- While the cakes bake, make the filling. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil.
- Let the mixture gently boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened and jammy. Remove from heat and let the filling cool completely.
Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
- In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and caramelized white chocolate until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until thoroughly mixed. Add the vanilla extract, 2 Tbs. of milk, and a pinch of salt and mix on medium-high until whipped, about 5 minutes. Add more milk, 1 Tbs. at a time until you reach your desired consistency (if necessary).
Assemble
- Place about 1 cup of buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Line the rim of one of your cake layers with buttercream to create a “dam”. Spread about 1/3 cup of peach filling in the center of your buttercream circle. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat.
- Frost your three-tiered cake with the remaining frosting. I went for the messy buttercream look, but you can smooth it out, cover it with fondant, make a cool pattern, etc!
- Top your cake with peaches, berries, flowers, and more! Enjoy!!
Notes
*Use 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
** Add only 1/2 c. milk
***Bake the cakes at 350° for 18-22 minutes.
xo Sara Lynn
*Song of the day: Visions by Loving
This cake looks so lovely!
Thank you so much! <3
Sara, this looks awesome – the cake looks so plush. Also reusing ziplock bags is totally a sign of old age, BUT seriously why would I NOT wash them and reuse them?!
Ah thanks, Jo! And I totally agree. Once this batch wears out, I’m buying re-usable bags for sure!!